What is a sentence?

A sentence is a group of words that expresses a complete thought. Every sentence needs:

• A subject (who or what the sentence is about)

• A predicate (what the subject is doing or being)

• A complete thought that makes sense on its own

Remember: A sentence always starts with a capital letter and ends with a punctuation mark (period, question mark, or exclamation point).

Simple Sentences

A simple sentence has ONE independent clause (one subject and one predicate).

Examples:

• Max runs fast.

• The yellow bird sang beautifully.

• My friend and I played basketball yesterday.

Notice that even though some of these sentences have more details, they still only have one subject-predicate pair.

Compound Sentences

A compound sentence has TWO or more independent clauses joined by a coordinating conjunction (FANBOYS: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so) with a comma.

Examples:

• I like pizza, but my sister prefers pasta.

• The dog barked loudly, so the mailman ran away.

• We can go to the park, or we can watch a movie.

Remember: You need a comma before the coordinating conjunction in a compound sentence.

Complex Sentences

A complex sentence has ONE independent clause and at least ONE dependent clause.

Independent clause = complete thought that can stand alone Dependent clause = not a complete thought, starts with words like: when, because, if, although, since

Examples:

• When it rains, we play board games inside.

• I finished my homework because I wanted to watch TV.

• Although she was tired, she helped her mom cook dinner.

Compound - Complex Sentences

A compound-complex sentence has TWO or more independent clauses AND at least ONE dependent clause.

Examples:

• When the bell rang, the students grabbed their backpacks, and they rushed to the playground.

• I love swimming, but I don't like diving because I'm afraid of heights.

• If you finish your work early, you can read a book, or you can help others with their assignments.